Carl Tapp Technician Scholarship

Arkansas Trucking Association has launched an opportunity to encourage growth in the diesel technician workforce, as well as a way to help assure that the safest, most knowledgeable and skilled technicians are working on the trucks and trailers on our roads.

In addition to the driver shortage, the industry is also wanting for more manpower under the hoods and over the motherboards of increasingly technological trucks. The Arkansas Trucking Association is pursuing partnerships with institutes with diesel technician certificate programs to make technician careers and training accessible to more Arkansas students.

The Carl Tapp Technician Scholarship Program supports aspiring techs in their education and certification pursuits at Arkansas institutions that produce workforce-prepared diesel technicians.

Little Rock, Ark. -- The Arkansas Trucking Association is pleased to announce the first recipients of the Carl Tapp Memorial Scholarship Fund. High school seniors Konner Hodges of Gentry High School Conversion Charter and Colt Dickard of Har-Ber High School will both receive $7,500 to pursue training for a career in medium/heavy duty truck technology.

“Truck and trailer technicians are required to balance a high level of skill with a continual commitment to learning as equipment evolves. Our industry is in the midst of a technology revolution as we strive to become more efficient and safer,” says Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association. “The Carl Tapp Memorial Scholarship is our way of investing in the very best emerging talent, and we look forward to helping these students enjoy success in their educations and careers in our industry.”

While at Gentry High School Conversion Charter, Konner Hodges has been a member of the football, baseball, and powerlifting teams. He is also a volunteer for the Gentry Youth Organization. This fall he plans to attend Northwest Technical Institute in Springdale, Ark.

Har-Ber High School senior Colt Dickard is a member of the Future Farmers of America and Skills USA, and he attends the Don Tyson School of Innovation in Springdale, where he receives concurrent high school and college credit. He also received recognition from the Northwest AR Regional Career & Technical Leadership Award program this year, and he plans to begin the medium/heavy duty truck technology program at the Northwest Technical Institute this fall.

The Arkansas Trucking Association’s Maintenance & Technology Council recently established the Carl Tapp Memorial Scholarship Fund to celebrate Carl Tapp, the council’s first chairman, and his career-long commitment to nurturing new talent in the industry. The Fund is intended to enable and encourage growth in the state’s diesel technician workforce and to help assure that the safest, most knowledgeable and skilled technicians are working on the trucks and trailers on our nation’s roads. Candidates were evaluated based upon their interest and performance in STEM courses, teacher and mentor recommendations and personal interviews with the scholarship committee of industry experts.

This scholarship has been made possible by the vision and investment in the future of trucking in Arkansas by the following companies and individuals: ArcBest Companies, Bruce Purkey, DAVCO Technology, McKee Foods Transportation, Pressure Systems International, TechForce Foundation, Truck Centers of Arkansas, Truck-Lite Co., and Walt Luethy. Contact Sarah Sheets (sarahsheets@arkansastrucking.com) for more information about the Scholarship Fund.

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There are many ways to help us take a positive step toward reversing the shortage of technicians in the Arkansas trucking industry.

Please let me know if you would be interested in joining us in this effort. For more information or if you have questions, please email me at sarahsheets@arkansastrucking.com or call 501.372.3462.